


The Last Descent

by Sayael



Series: Tales of shattered Lights [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Claustrophobia, Combat, Corruption, Death, Does getting swallowed by a giant worm count as vore?, Grief/Mourning, Mercy Killing, Original Character(s), Sad, There are tentacles somewhere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 02:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17930885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayael/pseuds/Sayael
Summary: Their Fireteam took a bounty to eradicate a Hive Nest in the depths of Mars. It was supposed to be just a small nest, barely worth mentioning but still a annoyance.Just killing a few Hive, what could go wrong?Everything. The answere is everything.





	The Last Descent

“HAZEL!”

The first thing he remembered seeing after losing track of time and the number of Hive he had killed, was a blinding light.

“Hazel please stop!”

“I think he stopped… he’s not moving.”

“Good.”

It had hurt his eyes so much, it gave him a headache. He had been shrouded in darkness, so thick it suffocated him.

"Hazel! Say something!" his ghost begged. His little light was hovering over him, bright as the sun against the dim, gloomy cavern. "Thank the Traveler, you're alive." 

"More or less," mumbled Constantine behind him. Ghost shot the Titan a glare. His Fireteam was standing a few feet away, cautiously glancing at him. But not because of the looming danger of the hive nest they were in, he realized, but because of... Him?

And that was when Hazel saw the black, tar-like substance on his hands. No. His whole body.

"I'm fine." he said, voice hoarse. "I'm not... Not Taken." he insisted.

### The Descent

They had taken a Bounty from the Vanguard and Ana Bray to clear out a Hive nest that was growing to be a problem for the Braytech Facilities. And Rasputin had apparently been complaining about it as well, according to Ana at least. The Hive were doing their “usual ritual bullshit” there, so Albus, a young human Hunter, took the bounty to his fireteam who were hanging out in the Tower’s Hanger, waiting for their Ships to get their check-ups & repairs done.

"We're bored anyways, so why not go? I haven't been to Mars in a while, ever since Ana called us there." Previously, they had been trying to get the Braytech Facilities under control again. But since Ana was busy getting everything running the Adventure had drawn to a slow pace.

"I always enjoy bashing in some Hive heads. The sound of their bodies shattering kinda gives me the tingles." their Titan replied. His name was Constantine, a young Awoken, currently serving as a backrest for their Exo Warlock, Hazel 7, whom he shot a look over his shoulders, nudging him in the process. “What do you think? You’ve had your face in your journal for like an hour now and haven't written a single word.”

"Sure." the Exo mumbled, followed by a sigh. The pages were full of notes, ideas & snippets of memories; but nothing new. He glanced at the jumble of words, closed the book & stashed it in the pocket of his coat. "When do we leave?" 

"Tomorrow? I need to fix the transmat on my ship. It has had some hiccups lately," Albus replied & looked at his Ghost, who displayed some schematics. "It's a small nest though. I don't think it'll be a problem." the human added.

"Shall we then?" Constantine grinned & got up, causing Hazel 7 to fall backwards & curse.

Mars was cold. Fucking cold. Hazel felt his mechanical joints crack a bit with each step for the first hour they had been on the planet trying to find the entrance to the Caverns.

“It should be close to your Location. Maybe a bit further north?” Ana’s voice crackled over the comms. “We might lose contact when you go too far in. Everything here is still a little bit of a mess & I’m trying to get all the security up and running first.”

After another hour they had finally found the Cave. It was hidden behind some rocks, close to a big Canyon & filled with jagged spikes of ice. They had to break a few just to get past, but as soon as the daylight grew dim & the few little light staffs that Ana had placed were their only guide along the cliffs, they knew they were close to the Hive. The screams and scattering noises echoed in the icy caverns, making it sound like a Bee Hive from Hell.

“I hate this already.” Albus grumbled.

“You wanted us to go! Don’t be a baby.” Constantine clapped the Hunter on the back.

“You have to admit that the Hive are fucking creepy. They sound like they’ve been taken straight from some horror movie.” All Albus got was a chuckle from Hazel & a laugh from Constantine.

“I feel like the Taken are worse. They are too quiet.” Hazel 7 finally added to the conversation as they entered a bigger room. To the other end of it they finally saw the familiar green-gold glow of the Hive. Some of them skittering about the floor of the big cavern, climbing rocks, hissing & clawing at each other. They hadn’t noticed the Fireteam yet and Hazel 7 knew if they made their presence known too early, all hell would break loose.  
Deep in his thoughts, he failed to notice Constantine chucking a grenade right in the middle of a group of Hive Thrall. Its explosion shattered their fragile bodies into pieces and the thunderous boom echoed through the Tunnels of the Nest. 

“Great…” Hazel 7 mumbled as Constantine let out a joyful shout & charged into the now very alert horde of Hive.

It wasn’t a long fight. It was barely a warm-up so while Constantine was picking up some dropped ammunition and Albus was checking his gun, cleaning it from some hive guts splattered on its side, Hazel 7 took a peek in a Tunnel that probably lead deeper into the nest.

“So, we’re supposed to stop some Rituals. I think I hear chanting down this Tunnel.” He said, tilting his head trying to listen more closely. It was barely a whisper.

They ventured further, deeper into the hallows, fighting Hive along the way. It wasn’t that big of a challenge and Hazel 7 could almost say he got bored. He made little notes along the way, occasionally throwing a Void Grenade into a group of enemies but not really getting into a good rhythm. It felt… off. Like the Hive were holding back.

They hadn’t even encountered a single Knight yet! A Wizard, yes. But without Knights to assist him he wasn’t that big of a deal.

After a few hours of traveling through the labyrinth of Hive tunnels they entered a medium sized Cavern. The walls were covered in the typical Hive gore and gigantic spikes were arranged in a circle in the middle of the room. Three Knights knelt between them, heads bowed, Swords stuck in the ground.

“Looks like we found it.” Constantine cracked his knuckles and readied his Shotgun.

Hazel 7 sighed, shook his head and chuckled as he cocked his gun. “I can’t wait to get out of here. I’m getting a headache from all the screaming.”  
“What screaming?” Albus asked but a reply was silenced by the Knights roars as they noticed the Guardians and charged at them.

Sometime during the fight a Witch appeared, along with a horde of Thralls. She summoned a Ogre which gave the Fireteam quite some trouble. “KILL THE WITCH!” Constantine shouted. “She’s shielding the Ogre!”

Hazel 7 focused on the Witch, running close, jumping and casting his Nova Warp at her. She tried to get away from him but he stayed close, hurting her with the Void energy. Suddenly she stopped and charged towards him instead. Taken aback, Hazel 7 stopped but caught himself just in time to grab her wrist as she tried to get at his throat.

Just then, a last explosion of his Void energy was enough to cause her to let go and howl in pain. The scream echoing through the caverns around them.

“NOW!” Albus shouted, casting his Blade Barrage into the now shieldless Ogre. It was a matter of seconds for them to literally punch him into a pulp as Constantine had casted his fist of Havoc.

Then the caverns were quiet. Only the heavy breaths of the 3 Guardians were heard, and as they realized this a strange feeling washed over them.

“We… uh… did it?” Hazel 7 murmured as he stepped close to his fireteam again, rubbing his neck. The Witch had left some pretty decent claw marks on his armor, even breaching it.

His ghost popped out and repaired this damage immediately. “Thanks.”

“Something’s off. It’s too quiet.” Albus checked his gun again. The comms had been quiet for a while and the cracking & static sound told them that they were probably too far down to get contact.

“Isn’t that what the people in action movies say just before hell breaks loose?” Constantine joked, laughing and wiping his hands free of Ogre gore.

And then all hell broke loose.

\-----------------------------------

First there was just a subtle rumble. Like the stomach of a large being grumbling. But as it grew louder it grew more menacing; the ground shaking just as if to emphasize that Constantine shouldn’t have said that.

“What the hell is that?!” Albus shouted. He had to shout because it had gotten close enough to muffle their talking, accompanied by the occasional debris falling off the ceiling. They looked around, trying to determine where it came from.

“Maybe just a… uh… Mars-Quake?” Constantine tried to joke but he only earned 2 very disapproving looks from his companions.

“I can’t determine where it’s coming from. It’s everywhe--”  
Hazel 7’s words got cut off by a loud cracking sound. Suddenly the floor below them opened up like a giant maw, revealing only darkness that threatened to swallow them all.

“RUN! THE TUNNELS!” Albus shouted and was already a few feet ahead, but even the quick Hunter wasn’t quick enough and one after another they fell down into the black void below.

Muffled groans & cracking bones told Hazel that he was the only one who had managed to keep at least a little bit of his strafe glide to not break both his legs as he hit the ground. He hadn’t even seen it coming, it was so dark.

Albus wasn’t so lucky. He had broken his leg & his left arm, but nothing his Ghost couldn’t fix. Constantine was fine. A bit hurt, but fine. Titans and their stupid, thick heads.

Hazel 7 glanced upwards. He could barely see a dim, golden light at the top of the massive sinkhole they had fallen into.

“Doesn’t look like we’re getting out of here by climbing. The walls are pretty steep and seem…. Almost smooth?” He hobbled over, touching the rocky walls and earned a sticky hand. “Something made this…”

Albus just groaned, the injuries gone but the pain still lingering. “Well, I can’t seem to get a connection to my ship to transmat out. It must have one of it’s hiccups again. I’m stuck.”

“You’re not the only one. My comms are totally black. Nothing. I don’t even know where on Mars we are.” Hazel 7 replied, fiddling with the settings and his Ghost doing his best to get at least a blip.

Nothing. His Ghost gave him a apologetic look & earned a understanding pet before it disappeared again.

The Hunter tried a few times to climb out the Sinkhole but to no avail. The walls were too steep and there was no ledge or much to grab on that didn’t break after being touched.

“Let’s walk,” Constantine huffed in frustration after trying a few times as well. “At some point we might as well come out on the other side of the Planet!” The Titan remained positive and Hazel 7 could almost see his dumb but stupidly positive grin under his Helmet.

So they walked. And soon enough realized they had only scratched the surface of the Hive Nest.

Ana Bray had massively underestimated the size of the Nest. They fought hundreds of Hive; Thralls, Knights, Ogre, Wizards. The whole shebang. After a few, maybe more revives they even lost track of time.

_**NO LIGHT…** _

Time has passed and with each hour that went by the tension rose a little bit more.  
“I want to get out of this fucking place!” Constantine threw a Thrall’s Head to the ground, stomping on it in frustration. Albus & Hazel 7 just looked at each other and the Warlock saw the Hunter shudder a bit. Albus always had been kinda on top of things and rarely lost his cool. But being down here in the dark, musky Hive Nest slowly scraped away at his usual collected demeanor.

Hazel himself started to feel more and more uneasy as well. The tunnels seemed to go on forever and the occasional screeching, running noises and howls of Ogres somewhere hidden in them kept the Fireteam on their toes. They had to duck, almost crawl through the small hole where sharp pieces of bone, stone and ice cut through their gloves. The tight space making Hazel almost feel claustrophobic and he heard Constantine heave a little bit behind him.

The drop that filled the barrel to the brim fell as they stumbled across the corpses of … people. Not hive, but Humanoids.

And there came a whole lotta nopes! Scattered through the Tunnels were the occasional dead Guardian and pieces of Ghost. All encrusted in the hive gore, some even barely visible under the faint glow that the crystals in the caverns gave off. Now knowing that they were there, Hazel 7 realized he had seen pieces before; since they had fought the Witch & the big Ogre. He had just thought it were remains of Hive since they had a more or less humanoid body structure. The Ghost fragments however,… made it clear.

“I wonder if Ana Bray knew what was down here…” he said; quietly to himself.

_**TRAPPED…** _

Suddenly the Trio threaded even more carefully after the little graveyard they had stumbled upon. Heads ducked and shoulders tight they ventured through the Tunnels, flinching at every screech or shuffle and barely daring to breathe too loudly. So when they occasionally had to fight some Hive which, funny enough, it felt like a little break from the looming and pressing tension.

“I feel watched…” Albus hissed through grit teeth. His gun had seen better days and parts had broken. Constantine was unusually quiet. He had his shield at the ready and seemed more focused. More protective.

Hazel 7 himself just felt… itchy. He had scribbled a few notes into his notebook but they had gotten repetitive. ‘Another corpse. The fifth? Or eighth? Need to recount. Did I miss one? Did I see this one already?’ Their armor started to show more wear. Claw marks, dents and some broken off pieces adorned their bodies. Albus had lost one of his gloves and Hazel hobbled a bit after he had stepped on a broken crystal.  
Soon they realized it had gone quiet again and the Warlock felt his artificial skin burn. He noticed Constantine cracking his knuckles, Albus being on high alert and ready to jump at any second.

And Albus was right to be prepared.

A roar broke the sudden silence, causing the Guardians to cover their ears as it grew even louder. Too late, they realized the vibrations were not just in their heads but that the ground was actually shaking and breaking apart. Out of the cracks came more Hive Thrall, but they ignored the Fire team and ran past them. Surprised & stunned by being ignored by their enemies (How dare they!) they turned and stared towards the hole, curious about what it could be that had frightened the Hive.

"We... We should go." Hazel 7 managed to suggest, his voice cracking. If he’d been human, his mouth would feel dry & the hairs on his back would stand up.

The ground shook again, the source closer this time.

"Good Idea---!" the Hunter barely managed to finish the word as a gigantic Worm-like creature broke through the wall next to them & riled itself up. It almost filled the whole tunnel cutting, off their way back and covered the Fireteam in dust and debris made out of rock and bones.

_**GOT YOU!** _

There was no way past it. As if they wanted to go back there... Come on!

"RUN!!!" Hazel shouted and it didn't need much to send them all into a sprint. Occasionally firing at the giant Worm but to no avail. The thing didn’t even flinch at their attacks. Maybe a grenade got it to stop for a second but it didn’t do much. None of them had their Supers ready.  
Debris fell from the ceiling, nearly hitting them as they entered another big cavern where Albus spotted a way up along some massive stalagmites and stalactites.

"Up there!" he shouted, his lungs burning and he heard himself wheeze in pain with every jump he took. It was a high climb and the ledges were slippery. The worm close behind them, the environment shaking & giving in into his massive form. So close behind them that they could feel its breath (and smell it) as if it was right on their necks. It allowed no margin for error.

But there was one…

_**LOST** _

As Hazel 7 tried to grab onto another ledge, Albus & Constantine already ahead of him since their jumps were faster and more precise, he slipped. The stone (or Hive gore) crumbling under his desperate grasp. He clawed at the wall, trying to find hold but it wouldn’t do him any favor as he fell, Gravity doing it’s job and pulling him downwards. He FELT the warm air as the worm roared mere meters below him, opening his gigantic jaws in anticipation of the Guardian falling towards him.

Hazel felt himself summon his Ghost.

Too late Albus heard the swears of his Warlock and turned, Hazel already out of reach, falling towards the Worms maw. He wanted to jump back down & try to catch his friends hand but as he reached downward, Constantine pulled him back, holding him just in time to pull him back towards the wall as the massive pincers snapped shut.

When Albus stared at his hand he was holding Hazel’s Ghost and it stared back at him. Lense wide with shock, shaking. “Whe… where is Hazel?” it asked.

### Surrounded by Darkness

All he heard was the cracking of metal, a low rumbling and screams. His screams. Muffled by the tight, slimy guts around him. He knew the Worm had swallowed him and he didn’t dare to open his eyes. The muscles around him tightened, threatening to crush him and if he would had to breathe he would have surely suffocated.

In a quick, maybe smart, maybe dumb maneuver he had decided to summon his Ghost just before he got snapped up. He hoped that, if he could somehow escape or, well exit the worm in any other way, that his Ghost could revive him. But with every passing second he was unsure if anything would be left of him to revive.  
He felt the body around him move, stretch and contract. Panic rose in his chest, knowing that it was possibly still chasing his friends and try to make them join him.

Then, there was something else. A whisper turned into a suggestion. A voice in his head beckoning him on. Hazel felt a sharp pain in his back as if something was trying to jab its way through his chest. Something else started to wrap itself around his limbs.

“Wha-...!?” he gasped, unable to get anything out before something slimy filled his mouth & throat. Cursing, he tried to wiggle himself free. If that worm wanted to try to eat him he sure as hell would give him the worst bellyache of his lifetime. Suddenly he realised there was something moving around him. Something inside here WITH him. The more he struggled the more TENDRILS wrapped around his body, constricting him, choking him. Like giant eels slithering through the slippery, tight space he was in. That was when he opened his eyes and saw that it wasn’t all dark where he was. Tentacles of light kept him suspended in seemingly pure Darkness. If he wouldn’t feel the pressure around him he would have sword he were in in a void.

And then there were the Whispers again: “No Light. Take it.” They said. “Snuff it out. Replace. Consume.” They chanted.

There! There was the sharp pain again at his back and it got worse until he felt his exo skeleton give way and the metal parts of his body groan and break. He wanted to scream out in pain, but no sound seemed to leave his mouth. Or nothing was heard. Any sound eaten by the Darkness & the Whispers.

The Tentacles tightened & snaked up his body, trying to pierce his skin. One managed to burrow itself into his shoulder. He screamed again. Another wrapped around his arm so tight it broke it. And soon Hazel 7 wasn’t sure which part of his body was not in pain. He felt like he was on fire. Being ripped apart and crushed at the same time. All while something was drilling into his head. Whispering. Beckoning. Suggesting.

Another one pressed against his back, trying to find a crack, a weak spot to burrow under and as it pushed, breaking through between his shoulder blades it seemed to try to grab something in his chest to rip & push it out on the other side.  
Hazel felt his whole body spasm & convulse, trying desperately to hold on to the Light that this thing tried to take away from him. He managed to crane his head up, tried to see as black veins formed on his chest.

“Become… Remade.”

“No...!”

The giant worm had rushed past them after they had squeezed themselves into a tight crevasse, barely wide enough to hold them both. As soon as it had crawled out of sight Albus poked his head out. Hazel’s Ghost flew out of his hand and looked around, panicking. “We have to save him! I can still feel his light!” he insisted, turning towards the other two Guardians. Hazel had never named his ghost. He had said he will when he finds a proper, suitable name for him and Ghost was okay with that. He looked forward to that day but now he feared it would never come.  
Albus tried to catch his breath. His lungs were burning and his heart threatened to burst out of his chest. The tight fist in his shoulder told him that Constantine felt the same. They were scared. For the first time in a long time they were unsure if they would make it out alive after they saw all the other Guardians who had failed.  
“Yes, sure. But… Let us… give us time to… Shit! FUCK! We don't have… “ Albus stuttered, smashing his fist against the rock. It hurt. “We can get that motherfucker. And if we have to cut Hazel out of his stomach, so be it!” Ghost lit up a little and the tiny light’s hope reignited even Constantines bravery. “Let's get back our Walking Archive! “ 

“Walking Archive” was one of the nicknames that he had given Hazel after they had known each other well enough to tell a bit of their life story. What they remember before being revived, if at all. Before Hazel became a Exo, when he was still human, he was suffering a from a form of anterograde amnesia. It made him miserable. The older he got, the more & quicker he forgot things & people. So he signed up for the Exo Programm in hope it would cure him in a way. And it did. Until his first reset. He panicked. He had forgotten something. His 2nd reset was a bit better but he had still problems taking the resets. After his 6th reset, he said, he had refused. Whatever happened then, happened. And it shall stay with him. In between his resets he had always written things down. A habit he had kept from his human life. His 7th reset however was forced. He doesn’t remember why he had to reset but since then nothing could make him. He would kill if someone tried.

They tried to follow the Worms trace. It wasn’t supposed to be that hard but they were nervous. Unsure about who was hunting who they followed the rumbling and felt like they were getting even deeper into the Hive’s labyrinth of death & gore.  
As they entered another big Cavern Constantine bowed over and rested his hands on his knees. “I can’t run anymore…” he wheezed. His lungs were burning. He didn’t remember how long they had been down here but it felt like an eternity. “We have to keep going. It must be close.” Albus insisted but he himself didn’t feel any better. He was tired, sweaty, hungry and overall a exhausted mess. They hadn’t had a break since they had fallen down the sinkhole. But they couldn’t take one. Hazel 7 didn’t have that luxury and they wouldn’t leave him to be digested by some stupid ass, massive Worm.

That’s when they heard it the first time - The Whispers. 

“MINE.” It reverberated through the seemingly empty caverns. 

“LIGHT. CORRUPTED. TAINTED. GONE.” It taunted them. 

“Shut up and show yourself!” Albus screamed into the darkness. Loud enough to almost convince himself that he wasn’t scared.

Silence…

_**Consume** _

The floor started to shake again. This time they were prepared and jumped backwards as their footing gave in below them. The Worm broke through the earth and had barely enough space to fit his head inside the cavern, which was to the guardians advantage. They started shooting. 

Here and there, some Hive came rushing in or they had to dodge a massive beam of fire that burned everything in its path. Albus wasn’t sure how long they fought but that monster seemed to have no scratches at all.  
He was out of ammunition and looked over to Constantine who was hiding behind another rock. His helmet was broken in parts and Albus could see his terrified expression as he realized how low on ammunition he was as well. Their Ghosts had been busy with reviving them over and over, now hovering close to each their chests while Hazel’s Ghost had been up in the ceiling, trying to scan the giant Worm for signs of his Guardian whenever there was an opening. It was a risky move but he needed to know if he was still in there.

The worm lifted his head, building himself up as tall as he could and let out a deafening roar that shook the walls & ceiling of the cavern. Albus felt his heart drop, fear paralyzing him as he realized the shadow of the worms massive maw above him.  
Constantine threw a grenade; “DUCK!” he shouted as it exploded against the worms head, causing it to reel back but that had made him even more angry as it seemed. “We… we have to run. We can’t beat this thing!” Albus finally admitted. He looked up to Hazel’s Ghost who stared back at him. “I’ll stay!” the little light shouted back and both the remaining Guardians felt torn between self preservation and saving their friend. IF there was even something worth saving.

Constantine and Albus hid their Ghosts as they prepared for another beam of fire. The Titan threw up his shield, knowing well that it wouldn’t withhold the heat but he did it nonetheless. But there was no beam of fire. The Worm twisted his body, pulling back his head as they head a low and subtle “FWUMB!”.  
The worm screeched.  
Another sound. A little bit louder this time.

Hitting his head on a pillar the Worm seemed like it wanted to retreat but something kept it from slipping back into the hole he came out of. That’s when they saw it: something was expanding in his throat or his stomach. Something was…. exploding. SomeONE.

It choked and wound around his body, gasping and shaking its head until it was gagging up a huge lump of black tar-like substance. It seemed like something inside the worm tried to keep it in but it quickly retreated and so did the Worm.  
Both guardians stared at it in shock, their eyes darting between the now seemingly dazed creature and whatever it had thrown up just there. Until the black mass moved. One arm, broken and twisted, snaked itself out of the sludge. A torso with its head lowered followed until it managed to lift itself up by its arms. Dark, black smoke rose up from its features and it twitched, shook and gasped.  
“H….. Hazel?” the Ghost came a bit lower and attempted to run a scan over the black mass as its head snapped up, causing the Ghost to put more distance between them again. Then it turned and stared at Albus and Constantine.  
“Oh….s….shit.” Constantine stuttered. It was Hazel, alright. But it wasn’t him at the same time. What they saw was something that pretended to be Hazel. Or was him. But it wasn’t Hazel. It was Taken.  
“Since when does that happen? Is …. is that a… this isn’t possible! We can’t be-... we can’t be taken!” Albus stammered, taking a step back. The twitching creature lifted itself on its knee. One hand grasping a broken, dirty Bygones, the other reaching towards the Guardians.  


“Hhhhhhhhhaaaa….!” its voice was broken and raspy. Mechanical and distorted. Albus raised his gun in defense, pointing it at the black mass. Almost forgetting the stunned, massive worm Monster behind it.  
“Wait!” Hazel’s Ghost shouted, flying down in front of the barrel. “It’s him! It’s still him! Please don’t shoot him! We can save---” he begged but got interrupted by another of the Worms roars. It had seemingly recovered from it’s bad meal and was reading itself for another attack.  
Just as it opened its maw again and the light in it’s mouth started to glow brighter, the the other ‘creature’ turned towards it and howled a ear piercing scream.

It, Hazel, rose to his feet and reeled his arm back, in his hand building up a ball of purple energy with a hint of pale green to it. And just before the Worm could fire it’s Beam of Fire again, Hazel threw a massive Nova Bomb right into its maw.  
The explosion was a mix of purple, green, black and white that caused the cavern to shake and some of the pillars fall over as the Worm smashed his head around in pain. Hazel bent down and grabbed a tar-covered thunderlord out of the black soup around him, cocked it and started shooting at the Worm before it even had time to recover from the blast of void energy.  
Albus and Constantine just stared at the spectacle. They still had their weapons at the ready, but before they realized they could help, the Worm let out one last roar and disappeared into the caverns below. His howl echoing through the tunnels until it was merely as loud as the wind.

The Warlock fell to his knees. The Thunderlord dropping beside him with a wet clatter, Hazel 7 stared at his shaking hands. Then he fell over, face first into the black goo.

\--------------------------

“HAZEL!”  
He heard his ghost. His light. It was blinding him. He shot up but stopped as he heard the familiar click of a gun behind him. He couldn’t help but twitch. His body shaking and his chest burning as if there was a fight inside of him.  
“Hazel please stop!”

He tried to stop.

“I think he stopped… he’s not moving.”

He exhaled, his fingers digging into the dirt & goo.

“Good.”

It had hurt his eyes so much, it gave him a headache. He had been shrouded in the most suffocating darkness he had ever experienced.  
"Hazel! Say something." his ghost begged. His little Light was hovering over him, bright as the sun against the dim, gloomy cavern. "Thank the Traveler, you're alive."  
"More or less." mumbled Constantine behind him. Ghost shot the Titan a glare. His Fireteam was standing a few feet away as if they were being cautious. But not because of the looming danger of the hive nest they were in but because of... Him?  
And that was when Hazel saw the black, tar-like substance on his hands. No. His whole body. "I'm fine. I'm not... Not Taken."  
“Prove it.” Constantine swallowed his fear. His friend, his companion. Corrupted?  
Hazel’s Ghost flew down to him and expanded his shell. Light flowing out of it and washing over the black figure. Nothing.  
He tried again. Hazel lifted his head, his eyes showing nothing but fear.  
Ghost tried again. And slowly, the black Tar seemed to simply wash off of him. He choked and coughed up a little bit of it, his body shaking and trying to repulse the corruption.  
It took him a good 15 minutes of his Ghost healing him and his body being a shaking, convulsing mess on the floor until he could lift himself to his feet. His knees were like butter and his chest was burning and had a strange, empty feeling to it. “You good?” he heard Albus’s voice. He heard mistrust in it. Something he had only heard when Albus was very wary of something. “Y… yes. I think so.” he replied.  
“You think so? What about that then?” Constantine was a little bit more open with his mistrust. His best friend had just turned into a Taken and was suddenly okay again? There was something wrong. Something really, really wrong. And Hazel 7 agreed.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Albus commanded, pushing himself off the rock he was leaning against and started walking towards a tunnel that seemed to lead upwards. But they were still lost. They had no idea where they were, and with that Worm still being around they had barely any real feeling of safety. Not that you could feel safe in a Hive Nest but still.

Taking turns with the watch, they managed to at least get some rest. Hazel 7 however was never on watch alone. He always felt their cautious eyes on him and noticed how they flinched just a little bit if he moved just a bit too quickly.

Albus felt horrible. Hazel 7 was his partner & they had known each other for decades now, fought many fights together. Survived the Taken King and the Red War! But that was the thing! They had been in a Fireteam for so long he had gotten to known the Exo rather well. He was even allowed to snoop through some of his archives sometimes or listened to Hazel telling stories from his past before meeting them, but now the Warlock seemed different. He FELT different. And Albus knew that Hazel 7 knew that as well.  
Something was wrong with him. His Ghost hadn’t left his side from the moment they left the cavern, running one scan after the other and was almost constantly touching his shoulder, neck or cheek.

### Hide & Seek

It seemed like days had gone by. Albus was low on ammunition and Constantine had to help him walk as the human was slowly becoming to weak of hunger and thirst. “I need a break…” he sighed. Constantine let him sit on a rock. “I wonder if the Drifter was right and that Hive are actually edible.” the Titan tried to joke and actually earned a chuckle from the Hunter. Hazel wasn’t hungry. He was Exo. They don’t eat… and he felt horrible to watch his friends suffer.

“Nimbus, how long have we been here?” Nimbus was Constantine’s Ghost. Covered in a spiky & rusty shell she looked dangerous (if ghosts can look dangerous) and was more of a silent type. “Approximately 13 days, 6 hours and 47 Minutes.” she replied. Albus groaned and leaned back against the wall. “Wouldn’t they have sent out a rescue party yet?” he asked, more towards the ceiling than his fellow Guardians. Hazel 7 & Constantine dropped their heads. They should have, right? Or maybe they just couldn’t find them.

With every day, they felt more and more hopeless. They felt like they were going in circles. That they had already squeezed themselves through this particular tight passage. Or had seen this one single rock before. Their Ghosts started to get weary with every revive they had to do after one or another fight as well.

It wasn’t until another day-or-so later that they finally found the massive Cavern again. The one where Hazel had lost his grip and got swallowed by the Worm. They were happy they hadn’t seen him since but the Hive were becoming more and more of a problem with every bullet they used to shoot them.

The Fireteam managed to make the climb up to a hole in the ceiling. This time carefully and without some monster chasing them. There were 3-5 Tunnels leading out of the chamber they had entered.  
Albus sat down again, catching his breath. His stomach was merely a raisin and he felt dizzy. Looking at Constantine’s slight sway in his step he knew the Titan felt the same. Awoken couldn’t die of old age but you could surely starve one to death. If they died, their Ghosts could revive them, right? But then they would starve again… it would be a endless circle. Slowly inching forward to hopefully an exit out of this hell.

“This one looks like it’s leading upwards.” Constantine came back and pointed at a Tunnel he had just checked out. Hazel 7 followed his gaze and frowned. Something was off about it and he stepped towards it. “Let’s go then.” “Wait, maybe check the others too?” Hazel 7 inclined.  
“I did, they don’t show any sign of going towards the surface.” 

“But…” 

“Let’s go!” Constantine hissed and Hazel 7 forced himself to shut up. He had a bad feeling but he had had a bad feeling since he got thrown up by a giant Worm Monster! He didn’t trust himself.

So they wandered into the Tunnel. And it sure went up. It was a steep rise and with each step Hazel 7 felt the pit in his chest grow wider and wider.  
“I think… I see some light.” Constantine breathed heavily and pulled himself up onto a ledge. He helped Albus up and walked towards some kind of gate that was covered in a membrane-like mass, glowing with gold & orange hues. It was almost inviting…

He released his Ghost to analyse it, concluding that it could be easily destroyed so they could pass through. But just as the Titan took a step back and readied a grenade, a huge claw shot through the membrane, grabbing his Ghost and crushed it. The distorted scream and the wave of released light washed over the Titan as he stumbled backwards, falling onto his butt and scrambling further away just as a huge Ogre ripped a hole through the membrane, stepping through it. “N… Nimbus….” he stuttered. It took Albus & Hazel a hot second to snap out of the shock and Hazel rushed over to Constantine, casting a healing rift & shielding him with his own body from the Ogres attacks. Albus summoned his last bit of strength to fire a Blade Barrage into it. It fell to the ground, smoking and sizzling with the hot blades still stuck in its neck.

Silence fell over them, only their heavy breathes echoing from the icy walls.

They turned towards Constantine who just stared at them. Mortified and shaking. “I will die here…” he choked, fighting back tears. Albus felt his hands shake as he went to his friend and tried to comfort him. “Come… We can do this. Let’s… let’s try to get out of here.” He said and both him and Hazel 7 helped him up.  
They continued. Constantine in the middle of them, Albus demanding to be up front and Hazel 7 in the back to shield Constantine from any possible attacks.  
Slowly & as stealthily they made their way forward. The caverns grew bigger & wider now. The Ice more white and less… well. Gore-y. 

As they reached a wide canyon with a few bridges made out of ice across it, they stopped. Constantine was shaking out of sheer exhaustion & the freezing temperatures. No Light that warmed him anymore. “I need a break… I’m tired.” he huffed, stumbling and almost falling to his knees.  
“We have to keep going…” Hazel 7 tried to keep him on his feet and let the Titan lean on him as the pushed forward alongside the cliff of the canyon.They could see faint daylight coming from very, very far up the massive crevice they were in. “I still can’t get a transmat out…” Albus sighed, his Ghost giving him an apologetic look. “I don’t know where we are. Something is interfering with the signal.”  
“Come on,... we’re making progress.” Hazel 7 tried to motivate the Titan but with each step he got more and more heavy. “Constantine…” he began but the Titan shook his head. Albus turned around to maybe try to help Hazel 7 carry him but a screech stopped him dead in his tracks. They had been noticed.  
Hive Thrall poured out of the Tunnel that they had come out off, sending the Fireteam into a sprint. “RUN!” Hazel 7 shouted, throwing a Void Grenade towards the Thrall to get them a little bit of a head start.

They turned onto one of the bridges. One that looked the most stable and ran, as carefully as they could, across. A Hive Knight emerged from the opposite side, effectively cutting off their escape. Hazel 7 cursed, readied his Bygones and started shooting Thrall while Albus tried to keep the Knight at bay, both keeping them off of Constantine who was barely able to shoot with his sidearm.  
“Keep shooting! There has to be an end to them!” Albus growled through gritted teeth. His knees were shaking and his aim was off. His eyes kept getting blurry and losing focus due to the massive hunger and exhaustion of his human body.  
“No there isn’t…” Constantine whispered as he got up.  
“What?” Hazel 7 turned for a second but had to focus back on shooting Thrall while having casted another healing rift to help their position. 

“I’m no use like this...” the Titan continued. 

“SHUT UP! We’re getting out of here!” Albus shouted, turning around and grabbing the Titan by the Collar.

“This sounds cheesy but…,” Constantine chuckled, leaning his head forward against Albus’s forehead before looking up, behind him.  
“Thank you guys… For ev---” he smiled through his broken visor and Albus saw the reflection of the Hive Knight in it as it lifted it’s Sword to strike them.  
Hazel 7 turned around just in time to see the Knight thrust his sword through Albus’s back and impaling Constantine in the process as well, effectively pinning them both to the bridge.  
The Thrall had now caught up with them jumping on Hazel 7s back, biting and clawing at him as the Warlock turned around to shoot the Knight in the face with his Shotgun. It fell backwards, ripping the blade back out.  
It was no use.  
Constantine was dead.  
Albus coughed, his Ghost frantically trying to heal his wounds as a Thrall jumped over Hazel, snatching it out of the air. And just as Albus looked up the Bridge gave in under the weight after being damaged by the Knight’s sword.

They fell.  
Hazel doesn’t know how deep he fell, but this time he didn’t have his strafe to keep him from hitting the ground hard. 

As he got back to consciousness his Ghost was hovering over him with a concerned look on its lense. Hazel 7 lifted his body, everything hurt and he was covered in pieces of ice, snow and dead Hive.  
A cough caught his attention and he scrambled to his feet, searching for the source. It didn’t take long to find it.  
Albus was laying under a huge piece of ice, the massive wound still visible on his chest and the floor below him tinted in bright crimson. It was only halfway healed since his Ghost got interrupted. Hazel fell to his knees, trying to move the block of ice but Albus grabbed his hands. “We should’ve trusted you…” he wheezed, voice weak.  
“No, no it was just… I should’ve….”  
“Shut…. up,” Albus laughed. “It’s okay… you’ll have… it easier now. Just… just stay low.” 

His gaze fell to the broken, lifeless Ghost in the Hunters hand. The Thrall had managed to break & kill it during the fall so there was no more revive for the Hunter anymore just like for Constantine whos body was lying amongst the dead Thrall around them.  
Hazel 7s head dropped and his shoulders started to shake. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t…”  
“It’s not your fault. It happened. We had a good run. Just… do me one last favor. Don’t…. forget us. Okay? I know you won’t and...”  
Albus weakly patted Hazel 7s knee. The Exo looked up as Albus put the broken Ghost into his hand. 

“Don’t let me freeze to death here.” 

A single shot echoed through the caverns and after a few minutes the Warlock emerged from the debris of the broken Bridge. He tucked Nimbus’s empty Ghostshell and one Knife he had taken from Albus under his coat and started walking.  
“Hazel…” his Ghost began. But he didn’t have to say anything. They both didn’t say anything for the next days as they griefed and traveled through the frozen tunnels, through caverns and Hive. 

Without having to really eat or rest, Hazel 7 made good headway. He tried to keep his mind busy with remembering places where he had been, making notes, making marks. But it still took time.

After spending almost a week alone with his Ghost in these Caverns, Hazel 7 had devised a strategy to get past the Hive without alarming them. All of course with trial and error. He died & resurrected quite often, not having anyone to watch his back or shield him when he was on low health. But sooner or later he had almost developed a routine to even get some rest. Squeezing ones self into a tight crack in the wall & covering up with Hive Gore didn't seem as disgusting as it was before they had descended into this nightmare. And so, with every waking up Hazel had hoped that it was just that: A bad dream, just like the deep stone crypt. 

But he didn't have that luxury. And then he lost his Ghost. 

Not ‘lost’ lost. But at some point Hazel 7 had gotten a bit clumsy and caught the attention of some hive knights when they scanned a broken & discarded piece of technology, encrusted in Hive parts hoping to get a lead out of it. Afraid that they could kill his Ghost just like the ones of his fallen companions, he shouted at him to fly high up to the ceiling and hide. In the chaos however, they got separated to a point to where Ghost lost complete sight of Hazel 7. Any scan he did for him got disrupted and had interference by the strong presence of the Hive and, as Ghost had noticed over the past days, something had taken root inside Hazel 7; corrupting him. Tainting his light and maybe to his advantage had blend him in a little bit with the Darkness surrounding them. Right now however, he just wanted to find him again.  
“Hazel…” Ghost felt his voice quiver a little bit and as some Hive turned to look for the source of the voice, he realized that calling out for him wasn't such a smart move. 

So he dimmed his lense, tinted it to a shade of green and floated along the ceiling to search for his lost Guardian.  
How could this happen? He thought. They had never been apart since he had found him in the ruins of an old colony on Luna. At first Hazel had panicked, screaming and running around disoriented. Saying that this wasn't supposed to happen. That he had given up everything to not lose it again.  
Only a few days later after the Exo had calmed down and had read through the tattered journal he was carrying on his body, Ghost could put the pieces together. Hazel had a extreme fear of losing his memory, a part that had transferred over from his human into his Exo life and even persisted through his resurrection. Since the day he found his Guardian, Ghost had made sure to log everything he could so that Hazel could count on him. Just as he counted on the Exo to bear the light. 

With each hour and intense listening to no avail, Ghost grew more and more concerned. He barely dared to scan the surrounding area in fear his light could attract attention. So he kept going. And going… 

With the noises of the Hive and the occasional cracking of the ice surrounding him, Ghost almost lost his marbles as he heard gunshots tore through the usual acoustic in the distance. Not sure where exactly they came from due to the echoing of the tunnels, he was cautious to pursue. Stopping at every corner, lurking & listening, he followed the occasional sound of fight until he was close enough to determine that it was a Bygones that he heard. Hazel 7 had a Bygones with him!

But as he rushed towards the sound & entered a big room it was not Hazel 7 that he found. It was the Barrel of said Bygones, pointing at him. “You are… You are not my Guardian.” he could only stutter. “And you are no Hive.” the wielder of the Bygones replied. Standing there was a Hunter clothed in white, gold and black. His face covered by a tinted Iron Banner Helmet that he tilted as if he was inquiring for more information. 

“Even if you kind of look like one.” The Hunter added. Before they had gotten separated Hazel 7 had fastened some pieces of Hive Bones onto his Ghost to camouflage him a little bit against their surroundings when he took him out. It had helped but it had given his Ghost a little bit of a headache. “It’s… so I don’t stand out too much.” Ghost replied and the other Ghost gave him a once over. “It’s a smart move but would take it off as soon as we get out of here.” it said. Ghost agreed.  
“Have you seen my Guardian? I…. I lost him.” he finally admitted, ashamed of himself for losing Hazel. “No, but we’re here to help you look for him. Weren’t you a fireteam of 3? We talked to Ana Bray…. you’ve been gone for over 3 weeks now.” the Hunter chimed in, holsting his Bygones.  
“Three weeks already?” Ghost dropped a little, shocked by that information but the Hunter lifted his hand to gently boop him upwards again. “Then there’s no time to waste. Let’s find your Fireteam and leave.”  
“They are all gone but Hazel… and I don’t know where he is.” Ghost floated, lense pointed towards the floor as if he was grieving. And he was… Having been busy with surviving they didn’t really have time to properly grief the loss of their friends. And now there still wasn’t any. The Hunter was right, they had to get out and if the Hunter had found them then maybe he knew the way out!  
“What is your name?” the Hunter asked.  
“Ghost…”  
“Just Ghost?”  
“My Guardian said he would give me a name if he found one that was... right.”  
“Huh…,” The Hunter replied. “Well, I’m Vaz-9 and this is [insert ghost name here derp]”  
They talked a bit. Having a Guardian on his side, even if it wasn’t his own, made Ghost feel a little bit more relaxed. He told them, briefly, what had happened since they had entered the Hive Nest and how they practically went through Hell and back. Ghost was used to retelling stories since Hazel often asked him to, just to make sure he did remember correctly.

Vaz-9 seemed determined to find Hazel just as much as Ghost did, and he was curious why. He didn’t know Hazel nor his fireteam. In fact, he had never seen that Hunter before so why he would go ahead and risk his life to rescue someone who was probably believed dead, was a riddle to him. “How did you know we were down here?” Ghost asked as they left another endless tunnel.  
“I overheard Ana Bray talking to Zavala. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but after she was done I approached her and inquired about the Bounty that your Fireteam had taken. Eradicating a small Hive Nest shouldn’t take 3 weeks so I asked her for the last coordinates he had of you and went looking. And it seems like it was the right thing to do…”  
Ghost stared at him, then turned to look ahead “Thank you…” he replied, feeling hopeful for the first time in days. “Never leave anyone behind.” the Hunter replied, voice sounding a little tainted by regret. “There’s always hope.” and Ghost swore he could see him smile under the tinted visor of his helmet.

As they were about to enter one of many tunnels that broke off a bigger Cavern they got turned around by the sound of something crashing & exploding. The sound was more than familiar. It was Hazel’s Nova Bomb, and it came from another Tunnel so they ran towards the sound, trying to distinguish which one exactly it came from.  
The Hunter shot a few Hive that came running towards them, killing them with precise hits to the head. He was different than Albus. More calculated, aiming right at the head to not waste too much ammunition or make more sound than necessary. 

Left, right, forwards. The sounds had fallen quiet and now they only had Ghosts and the Hunters Ghosts scan to follow just a hint of Light they had detected a good distance away. Ghost was wondering what Hazel had done in the past days. If he had gotten injured or worse. If what ever had taken root inside him & was corrupting his Light had grown. He hadn’t been the same since they had lost Constantine & Albus. He had kept his notes to himself. Notes he usually would show to his Ghost.

It was quiet again and now they were just following whatever the 2 Ghosts could pick up from the source of dim light.  
The sight that offered itself to them as they entered another big cavern was surreal. The walls were covered in shards of bone, crystals, the usual hive decoration and ragged stones, some of them the known yellow-ish glowing eggs where those Monsters hatched out of that tinted the room in a warm light. Most of them were broken and there were marks of a fight.  
Towards the end of a room was a small pond. It’s water tinted black like Tar, shimmering & covered with a oil slick layer.  
It wasn’t deep however. In the middle of it they saw a person kneeling in the black liquid, hunched over. On the shore a Hive Witch, surrounded by dead Thrall. A Hive Knight was laying in the corner of the room, it’s head gone, grasping a mechanical arm in it’s claw.

“Hazel…?” Ghost whispered, afraid that any of the bodies could jump up and launch at him, even though he knew they were definitely dead. Vaz-9 had his Bygones at the ready. He did stand back a bit, waiting but prepared to fight anything that came at them as Ghost slowly floated over to the Warlock. Scanning him for injuries and trying to get his attention.

The Exo just stared into the black water, intensely, as if something was talking to him and he was listening.

“Hazel, it’s me. I… I found someone who can get us out of here.” he floated closer. Slowly, inch by inch, Hazel’s Head turned a little bit, as if he had to concentrate to hear Ghosts words.  
“I’m tired…” he just replied, voice barely a whisper. “Then let’s get out of here and go home!” Ghost encouraged him, nudging his shoulder a little bit as he heard splashes behind him.  
“Hey…” Vaz-9 had stepped into the pool of guts, blood and whatever that substance Hazel was kneeling in, was. The Warlock tilted his head, shoulders tensing up and Vaz-9 knew he was still on high alert so he treated carefully. “Come on,... You look like shit. Let’s get you out of this hole, whad’ya say?”  
Silence, as it seemed like Hazel was considering and rolling the words over and over in his head. Was this real? Or too good to be true?  
A nod was all they got and as Hazel tried to get up, Ghost noticed that his left arm was missing; looking around he found it in the claws of the Hive Knight.  
Vaz-9 helped the Warlock up, he gave him a once over. Hazel looked like he got pulled through the gutter and knowing that they had been a Fireteam of 3 when they got here, made his heart drop. He had hoped to find them all but by the look of the Warlock, he knew that he was the only one left, just as his Ghost had told him. He was determined to get him out & to safety after making sure to leave marks to find their way out quickly. They had to be quick… there was no time to lose. Not again.

“Let’s go. Now.” Vaz-9 insisted, grabbing Hazels arm from the Hive Knights claws and supported the Warlock for the first few minutes until he was sure he could walk well on his own.  
It took them merely a hour or two to find their way out thanks to Vaz-9s Markers and Ghost felt ashamed for being lost for so long.  
“We were so close…” he whispered, defeat & regret in his voice.  
“Don’t beat yourself up… this place is a fucking maze. I’m astounded you survived this long. That hole you fell into, I found it, was a deathtrap and partly caved in. I had to find another way down.” Vaz-9 tried to cheer him up a bit while Hazel hadn’t said a single word until they finally breached the surface, stepping out of a small cave entrance into the sunlight on Mars.  
Hazel-7 covered his eyes, the light burning and blinding him but as soon as they adjusted to it, looked around, letting out a sigh of relief.  
Head still slightly bowed he turned it towards the Hunter. “Thank you…” he mumbled and Vaz-9 took a better look at the mess in front of him. “Please,... don’t. We have to look out for each other, right?” he replied and gently grasped his shoulder, patting it carefully as if he was scared the Warlock could break into a million pieces. Hazel just grabbed his out of reflex, shoulders tensing up again but quickly let go.He stumbled a few feet forward “I have to… report back to Ana Bray.” he just mumbled and Vaz-9 nodded. He realized that it wasn’t all over yet so he accompanied the Warlock the the Braytech Facilities and to Ana Bray where Hazel 7 gave a more-or-less accurate report. Mentioning that he got swallowed by a giant Hive-Worm but leaving out what had happened to him inside.  
“That worm…” Ana began. “Could it be… I have to check it out. Thank you Hazel 7.. and…. I… I’m so sorry for your loss. I should’ve been more thorough.”  
Hazel 7 wanted to say “Yes. You should’ve been. We would have been more prepared and they would still be alive.” but he didn’t. Instead he just nodded and replied “If you or someone else finds their bodies… let me know. I want to give them a proper burial. For now…” he looked down at the broken Ghostshell of Nimbus and Albus’s Hunter knife, running his thumb over it’s edge. “This has to do.”  
Vaz-9 felt a cold shower run down his neck at the sight of how little Hazel 7 had left of his Fireteam. Later they would learn that Vaz-9 knew this feeling much to well.  
They left the facility and stood on the balcony towards the landing platform for a bit. 

“Thank you… again. For getting me out of there. For not giving up on us.” Hazel still felt like he was in a dream. That this wasn’t real and that he could wake up any second now, still stuck in between some Hive in the Nest.  
His Ghost floated over to Vaz-9 “If you want to find us. I uhm… gave you our contact. Hazel might need of time a bit but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind to see you again.” he almost whispered.  
“He just needs s---”  
“Yes.” Hazel broke in.  
His Ghost jumped a bit. “I need some time for myself.”  
“No worries.” Vaz-9 replied, knowing to well how Hazel 7 was feeling right now.  
“Speaking of contact… I never introduced myself properly. Vaz-9.” he took off his helmet, revealing a gold-sheen shimmering Exo face with blue glowing eyes. “Nice to meet you, Hazel---....” he began and Hazel took his hand, squeezing it slightly.  
“Hazel 7-01. And this is Frith…. my Ghost.”  
Frith jolted up, looking at his guardian is surprise.  
“Frith…?” he repeated, just for himself. “My name is… Frith.” If you looked hard enough, you could have sworn to see a smile on his little lense.  
“I look forward to seeing you again, Hazel 7-01.” Vaz-9 nodded and put his helmet back on. “So do I…” Hazel 7-01 replied and watched as the Hunter faded away, catching the transmat to his ship.

The Warlock turned around, Frith disappearing into his own little pocket with a “Thank you.”, and walked over to the edge of the Landing platform. He sat down to let his legs dangle over the gigantic canyon that surrounded the Braytech Facility. In his hands he was fumbling with the broken Ghost shell of Nimbus and the Hunter Knife rested heavy on his hips.  
And when Hazel 7-01 pulled his knees to his chest, when the winds were pulling at his coat & gently caressed the the metal of his face, for the very first time in decades he wished he could cry … and forget everything that had happened.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Story I wrote about my Warlock Hazel 7-01 and how a simple strike changed him to who he is now. I might add some illustrations if I find time to draw them but for now there's only one somewhere in the story.  
> If you have any questions regarding Hazel 7-01 or his Fireteam don't hesistate to ask! You can find me on Twitter under the handle SayaelNu.
> 
> Big thanks to those who helped me fix my horrible grammar and bad wording since english isn't my first language.


End file.
